Michigan physical therapy marketing that knows when the script is due

Michigan patients can book a physical therapist without seeing a doctor first, but only for a while. Your ads can say so, as long as the front desk knows when the clock runs out.

Michigan's physical therapy law allows treatment without a prescription for 21 days or 10 treatments, whichever comes first. After that, care goes on only with a prescription. So "see us anytime, no doctor needed" promises more than the law gives. "Start without a referral" is the honest version.

• Who can write the prescription. Medical and osteopathic doctors, dentists, podiatrists and advanced practice registered nurses all count. A booking page can say so, which spares a patient a wait for a specialist.
• The first visit belongs to a therapist. Before an assistant treats a patient who came in without a prescription, the licensed therapist must decide that therapy is needed. Book that first visit with a therapist, and say so on the booking page.
• A prescription goes stale. The Board of Physical Therapy's rules keep a prescription good for 90 days unless the prescriber picks another date. A recall message to a patient with a four-month-old script should send them back to their prescriber first.

There is one open door. The same law sets no limit when the patient comes to prevent injury or improve fitness. A balance class, a running form check or a return-to-sport screen can run with no visit counter, as long as it really is prevention and not care for a current injury.

When a worker gets hurt on the job in Michigan, the employer usually arranges the first month of care. So the people who send you work injury patients are employers and the clinics they use, not the injured worker scrolling ads.

Michigan's workers' comp law has the employer furnish medical care. The worker may switch to a physician of their own choice only after 28 days of care. The same law pays for physical therapy only under a prescription, from the same short list as no-fault.

That makes this part of the plan a business-to-business job:

• A one-page sheet for employers. Hand it to HR managers and plant safety leads near each clinic. It covers hours, how you send progress notes and how soon a new patient is seen, if you can keep that promise every week.
• The occupational clinics come first. The doctors who see day-one injuries write the prescriptions. A short visit to each one near your clinics does more than any ad.
• A page for workers past day 28. Some switch doctors after the first four weeks. A page that explains how their new doctor can send you the prescription catches them.

Icy roads send Michigan clinics crash patients from October to April. The state's own crash numbers show where that money should go.

Between October 2024 and April 2025, Michigan police reported 33,840 crashes where ice, snow or slush covered the road. Oakland County had 3,157 of them, Wayne County 3,086 and Kent County 2,602. Rear-end crashes, the usual whiplash case, were 15.4% of that winter total in the state's crash report.

Snow sets the rhythm too. NOAA's climate normals for Grand Rapids show 77.6 inches a year, with the first freeze around October 20.

Detroit Metro Airport gets 45.0 inches, and its first freeze comes about a week later, near October 27, in NOAA's Detroit file. Lansing sees 50.2 inches and freezes first around October 13, by its NOAA file.

• Budget by county, not by state. Put the crash-season money where the crashes are: Oakland and Wayne for a Detroit-area clinic, Kent for Grand Rapids.
• Start with the first freeze. Lansing and Kalamazoo turn icy before Detroit does. Kalamazoo's NOAA file puts its freezing season at about October 18 to April 28.